Southend Airport to Tilbury Docks

[jocap]

We live in a remote area of the Lake District, and have problems with transport. Carlisle airport should be starting its passenger service soon, to Southend. Looking at the map, this seems to make Tilbury a good place to start a cruise.

Does anyone know about transport from the airport to the dock? Is Tilbury a reasonable place to stay for a night- hotels, restaurants, shops? Or is Southend a better place to stay- I presume that it will be easy enough to travel to the docks from there.

[Turtles06]

Perhaps this link with transport options will help until you hear from folks who have personal knowledge:

 

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Southend-Airport-SEN/Port-of-Tilbury

[Bob++]

It is not simple by train, so I would take a taxi for the 40-minute drive (traffic permitting). Where you stay might depend on timing. You will probably end up in The Holiday Inn at Southend overnight with plenty of time to get to the port on sail day.

[jocap]

Thanks... I think Southend might be the place for the night, and I'm sure they can order us a taxi from there...

This all depends on whether the flights actually start- they were promised last year, then again for this summer...

And now my OH ( a roller coaster fanatic!) tells me that there's a roller coaster in Southend...looks like a cruise and stay, then! 🙄

 

[Bob++]

I hear they are going to do this again - perhaps OH could join in... Southend park's naked rollercoaster record attempt https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-34599111

Edited May 3, 2019 by Bob++

[Morgans]

Nothing at all in Tilbury ......Southend would be better. Perhaps a taxi straight to the ship?

[Dermotsgirl]

You can get a train from Southend Central direct to Tilbury Town, it takes about 30 minutes. The cruise port is about a half a mile from Tilbury Town Station.

 

I would definitely stay in Southend, as there is nothing in Tilbury.

 

 

 

 

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

You can get a train from Southend Central direct to Tilbury Town, it takes about 30 minutes. The cruise port is about a half a mile from Tilbury Town Station.

 

And I think that there's still a shuttle bus that goes from Tilbury Town to Tilbury Riverside, ie the cruise terminal.

 

It may be worth saying explicitly that Southend Airport is on the line to London Liverpool Street, and Southend Central is on the line to London Fenchurch Street. So you really do have to start the train journey from Southend Central, but that wouldn't be an issue if staying in Southend.

 

Of course, that means that another option would be to go into London for the night, which will definitely be more interesting even than Southend.

[jocap]

3 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

And I think that there's still a shuttle bus that goes from Tilbury Town to Tilbury Riverside, ie the cruise terminal.

 

It may be worth saying explicitly that Southend Airport is on the line to London Liverpool Street, and Southend Central is on the line to London Fenchurch Street. So you really do have to start the train journey from Southend Central, but that wouldn't be an issue if staying in Southend.

 

Of course, that means that another option would be to go into London for the night, which will definitely be more interesting even than Southend.

We did try to suss out travelling from Southend to Southampton, but that sounded as difficult as going from Seascale (nearest station to us) to Southampton- changing trains with luggage is getting difficult for us (it's an age thing... ) It's actually easier for us to go to London than S'ton, once we get to the main West line.

Thanks, anyway- it all depends on Eddie Stobart and the flying plans!

[Happy Marmot]

I live in southern Essex and know the area very well.

There is a railway station adjacent to Southend On Sea airport terminal.

There is a railway station at Tilbury which is about 1000 yards away from the Tilbury Cruise Terminal.

There are two options to get from Southend On Sea airport terminal to Tilbury by rail and both of them are onerous and complicated.

Option one is to take a train into Southend Victoria railway station and then walk 300 yards along the High St to Southend Central railway station where it is possible to take a train directly to Tilbury.

Option two is to take a train towards Liverpool St but change at Romford and take another train to Upminster where you can change to another train which will take you to Tilbury.

Each of the above two options include travelling on sections of railway where the service is not very regular and the entire journey may therefore take a couple of hours or so in total including waiting times. There is also the 1000 yard journey from Tilbury railway station to the cruise terminal to consider with both options.

The road journey from Southend On Sea airport to Tilbury docks is approx. 20 miles and takes about 35 minutes. Taxis are normally available at Southend airport. Taking a taxi would be my recommendation.

Of all the cruise ports I've visited in the World, Tilbury, I regret to say, is the most unappealing of them all (and yes, I have been to Naples!) Even the nearest pub is called The Worlds End!

If you have to 'overnight' anywhere from Southend airport to Tilbury then Southend offers most choice and a reasonable environment. There is a reasonable hotel (Holiday Inn) within 200m of the airport terminal. There is nowhere worthwhile to stay within miles of the Tilbury cruise terminal.

Southend airport is on the outskirts of the town but being a seaside resort (if a little faded!) Southend-on-Sea has a large range of accommodation from B&B to 4 star hotels along with pubs and restaurants and, of course, the longest 'pleasure pier' in the World.

So my recommendation if flying into Southend airport to transfer to Tilbury Cruise Terminal is to take a taxi and, if you need overnight accommodation, stay somewhere in Southend-On-Sea.

 

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Happy Marmot

[jocap]

Happy Marmot- you're a diamond!💎 I really hope that this does happen...and we fancy a few days in a faded sea side town- I did visit,  about 50 years ago, but I was on my way to Leigh (?) on Sea, so never saw the roller coaster or similar.

Thank you everyone for your help. 

[Happy Marmot]

35 minutes ago, jocap said:

Happy Marmot- you're a diamond!💎 I really hope that this does happen...and we fancy a few days in a faded sea side town- I did visit,  about 50 years ago, but I was on my way to Leigh (?) on Sea, so never saw the roller coaster or similar.

Thank you everyone for your help. 

Jocap, Old Leigh-on-Sea is still just about worth a visit since it is the closest thing south Essex has to a 'quaint little' fishing village and it is only a few miles away from central Southend-on-Sea.

The roller coaster is really nothing to get too excited about. There are a number of 'fairground rides' at Adventure Island but, in my opinion, they are nothing like what was available in the Kursaal 50 years ago. Southend is really just a shadow of what it was some years ago. However, it has a fairly good shopping area, some nice old buildings, the longest pleasure pier in the World (definitely worth a visit) and Rossi's ice cream!

However 'faded' it might be, it is still much better than Tilbury. If you ever use the Tilbury cruise terminal just get in and out as soon as possible! Attached is a photo of the cruise ship berth beside the Thames mud taken from Google street view!

 

 

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, Happy Marmot said:

Old Leigh-on-Sea is still just about worth a visit since it is the closest thing south Essex has to a 'quaint little' fishing village and it is only a few miles away from central Southend-on-Sea.

 

Thank you for this. I go to Southend about once a year for a day trip for a specific event, and it's useful to know that there is somewhere else nearby that would be interesting to visit.

[Happy Marmot]

7 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Thank you for this. I go to Southend about once a year for a day trip for a specific event, and it's useful to know that there is somewhere else nearby that would be interesting to visit.

Globaliser,

Old Town Leigh is 200 metre walking distance from Leigh-On-Sea railway station which itself is just three stops (5 minutes) towards London Fenchurch St from Southend Central railway station.

The walk takes you past the marina, boatyards and seafood shops and stalls and leads into the essentially traffic-free original Leigh High St. (which is partly cobbled) with old houses, boatyards, shops, restaurants and pubs etc on either side of the street. There is also a Leigh museum and a small sandy beach. Many of the pubs etc. have terraces with views across the Thames Estuary and Canvey Island towards the north Kent coastline. Leigh-On-Sea old town is well worth a half-day visit and possibly a lunch stop, particularly if you enjoy freshly-harvested cockles and winkles etc.

[Island2Dweller]

If staying overnight, definitely stay in Southend (not Tilbury).

The trains from Southend (on the C2C line) are frequent.  Counterintuatively, you'll find it easier to go one stop past Tilbury station to Grays.  That's because there will be taxis waiting outside Grays station - they won't at Tilbury.  The road distance to the dock entrance is about the same.

[jocap]

That's very useful information- thank you!

[Happy Marmot]

18 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

If staying overnight, definitely stay in Southend (not Tilbury).

The trains from Southend (on the C2C line) are frequent.  Counterintuatively, you'll find it easier to go one stop past Tilbury station to Grays.  That's because there will be taxis waiting outside Grays station - they won't at Tilbury.  The road distance to the dock entrance is about the same.

The information regarding the road distance from local railway stations to the cruise terminal is a bit misleading. From attached map, A= Cruise Terminal, B= TIlbury railway station C= Grays railway station.

However the advice regarding the better availability of taxis from Grays rather than Tilbury is absolutely correct.

But I would also confirm that if travelling from Southend Airport the recommendation is to take a taxi from there rather than trying the difficult rail links.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Happy Marmot